CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Thiel College football team suffered a 63-20 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss at DiSanto Field to the 18th-ranked Case Western Reserve Spartans Saturday night.
 
The Spartans raced out to a 21-0 lead over the Tomcats in the first quarter and never looked back. CWRU continued to pour it on in the second quarter scoring another 14 points. CWR freshman quarterback Drew Saxton accounted for four passing touchdowns in the half.
 
The Tomcats would answer just before halftime when sophomore defensive lineman Curtis Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) forced Saxton to fumble giving the Tomcats the ball deep in Case Western territory. The takeaway led to the Thiel's first points of the night when Marko Bakovic (Stockholm, N.J./Wallkill Valley) connected on a five-yard strike to Devin Turner (South Park, Pa./South Park) to make it 35-7 going into the half.
 
Thiel would get on the board again midway through the third quarter when Trou Johnson (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) returned a kickoff 87 yards to make it 42-13 in favor of the Spartans after a failed point after attempt by the Tomcats. Johnson collected 196 return yards on seven attempts.
 
After a pair of scores by CWRU, Thiel responded with another Bakovic-to-Turner connection, this time from 66 yards out. It was Turner's second straight week with two touchdown receptions. The freshman wide receiver hauled in two touchdown passes last Saturday against the Geneva Golden Tornadoes.
 
The Tomcats were led on defense by Matt Crawford (Greenville, Pa./Greenville), who racked up a team-high 14 tackles. Cody Wagner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brashear) and Dusty Maines (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) each totaled 12 tackles.
 
Bakovic completed 18-of-30 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Fred Davis (Tampa, Fla./Middleton) and Raymond Jackson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Imani Christian Academy) each recorded four catches apiece.
 
The Tomcats will return home to Alumni Stadium on Saturday for Thiel College's homecoming game. Thiel will face PAC opponent Waynesburg (1-3, 1-2 PAC). Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.